The Legacy of Conflict by David Hough

Publication date: 18 March 2013Format: Amazon Kindle(Please note: you don't need a Kindle reader to read this book - you can download it from Amazon onto your computer/ipad/iphone)

Ancient conflicts between England and Ireland come back to haunt Rose Greenwood when she sets out to meet the sister she never knew. Unaware of each other’s existence, and brought up in vastly different circumstances, they have little common ground.When circumstances throw them into close contact, their differences threaten to tear them apart. And yet, in the face of a deadly danger, they realise they need one another. Can they overcome their mutual dislike in time to save their lives?

What the readers say

"A compelling, well-researched book which grips the imagination from start to finish."

"There is so much to this story but the writer never loses sight of the main characters, their hopes, their dreams, their misfortunes, and times of happiness."

David's thoughts on The Legacy of Conflict

How would you describe this book? This is a story of sibling conflict on a large scale. Imagine twin girls, separated as babies, who come together as adults. They have been raised in such very different circumstances that they can’t abide one another. And yet they need one another. And they need to know the history of their ancestors in order to bring unity into their lives.

Where did the idea for this book come from?I lived and worked in Northern Ireland during the period known as "The Troubles". Being there, amongst the daily bombings and killings, gave me a deeper insight into the culture and background of Northern Ireland than I could ever have achieved at home in England.

When I came to write this story I was immediately drawn into using my personal experience as a way of creating the characters of those twin sisters. One - Sorcha FitzGerald - grew up in poverty in a run-down area of Belfast. The other - Rose Greenwood - grew up in comparative wealth in the south of England. One was badly abused. The other knew only the love of the aunt who raised her. Could there be a greater gulf between those sisters?

Did the story end up where you thought it would when you started writing? Yes, with a few reservations. The present-day story was just as I planned it. The background historical story went further than I planned. The man who was hanged on the gallows was the right character, but he wasn’t such a bad person as I originally intended. He was as much a victim of circumstances as the Irish girl in the present-day story.

Which character in this book did you enjoy writing the most? At the start of this book Sorcha FitzGerald has all the hallmarks of being the "baddie" who would get her comeuppance at the end. That’s what I wanted the reader to think… but it’s not what I planned for Sorcha. I aimed for her to change as the story progressed. More than that, I aimed for the reader to see her in a new light as her background became clearer. By the end of the novel she seems to be a very different person. In fact, as the astute reader will quickly determine, she never was the baddie in the first place. She was simply a victim of her circumstances, worn down by her environment. It was a fascinating exercise in character creation and development.

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